Zack Connors (Graham Skipper, Almost Human) is walking by himself along a lonely rural road, bundled up against the winter snow. A police car pulls up beside him and the officers inside start hassling him with complaints they’ve received about a guy who matches Zack’s description.  Zack obviously just wants to be left alone (and might not be innocent anyway?) but the cops decide to escalate the situation by searching him and getting his I.D.  This does not please Zack and he ends up throwing one of the cops against the car. From 10 feet away. With his mind.

The other officer manages to knock Zack out and they take him back to get booked. Also at the squad room is Dr. Michael Slovak (John Speredakos, The Innkeepers) with a proposal: Zack can avoid any charges by coming to the doctor’s institute for people like Zack: people who can move things with their minds. Psychokinesis. Dr. Slovak entices Zack by telling him that Rachel Meadows (Lauren Ashley Carter, Darling) is already there. Zack perks up at the name. It seems Zack and Rachel have some history together. Zack agrees to go.

There is a third psychokinetic at the institute, and Dr. Slovak at first seems genuinely interested in testing and developing the powers of the three subjects. Soon enough, however, we discover that the doctor has a much more nefarious project of a personal nature in mind, and the psychokinetics are in a desperate fight for their very survival, using only the power of their minds.

Writer/director Joe Begos (Almost Human) is having a ton of fun with this movie.  It’s not just a retread of Scanners or The Fury; it expands and ups the antes in new and interesting ways.  Graham Skipper does a great job as Zack, trying hard to keep control of his power and failing more often than not.  The intensity of his gaze shows the destruction behind it, and I could easily believe that his mind can move and rip and explode (frankly, I was worried that the actor was going to give himself an aneurism during these scenes). I’ve been a fan of Skipper’s for a few years now, and he continually impresses me with his strong, solid work and characterizations.

Lauren Ashley Carter was an absolute marvel in Darling, and, although she has less to do here in terms of holding up an entire movie, she still makes Rachel a sympathetic woman with a dangerous streak. She can hold her own and the two of them are a formidable, nearly unbeatable force.

Nearly.  Rounding things out is John Speredakos’ turn as Dr. Slovak, who has been secretly injecting himself with fluid from his subjects in order to turn himself into the most powerful psychokinetic of them all.  Speredakos has a rather thankless job as the evil doctor, and he doesn’t do much with the character other than “be evil.” It’s a one-note performance, where getting louder is supposed to translate into even more evil.  I’m a little surprised that there was any scenery left after he got done chewing.

The special effects were astounding. Although the sets and locations point to an ultra-low-budgeter, the effects and makeup were of the highest quality, ultra-realistic, and they shocked even this jaded old gore fan. Heads are exploded, bodies ripped in half, and assorted parts are shot, stabbed with glass shards, or injected with super mind serum.  Tremendous work by Pete Gerner and Brian Spears here.

But if it was just a splatterfest, I wouldn’t be able to strongly recommend it. There is much more here that all works together extremely well: the synth-heavy 80s soundtrack by Steve Moore, the wild blue-green-red-yellow lighting and cinematography that pays homage to Italian flicks like Suspiria, the somewhat ambiguous ending that leaves room for a possible sequel. This movie is a fun roller coaster ride, and Uncle Mike sez you should check it out.  The trailer is below!